Twenty Five Days Of Christmas
by BadWolfReborn
Summary: December 2012- a time for celebrating, caring, and discovering what you already knew. Clyrnin, with festive cheer, lots of fluff and a tiny bit of angst. Some strong language.
1. 1-2

**Twenty Five Days of Christmas**

**Set after Bitter Blood.  
Also: I have no idea how winter works in America, never mind in Texas.  
** I mean, it's warmer there, right, especially this year (I dunno, that's what Tumblr said)? So, I'm just guessing about sunsets and temperatures here- in England, it's really cold, and the sun sets at quarter to four. Boo sucks to nature.

_**Part One- Days One and Two**_

Day One: November, December.

Claire slammed the door behind her, and stormed away from the Glass House. She was sick of Eve's and Michael's awkward glances, and Shane's pitiful stares. She had tried with him- God knows, she had tried- and she had even guaranteed him freedom from Morganville, but apparently, that was not enough. No matter what she did, it was never enough.

Work six days a week to try and keep them in the Glass House? _No, Claire, I don't want you working with a crazy-ass Vampire. Not even one you're friends with._

Help save Morganville from Draug, who would happily devour humanity, once they were done with the town? _No, Claire, that means helping the Vamps and I don't want you to do that._

Can't fight off a Vampire who you've lived with for two years when he jumps you in the middle of a hospital room? _Well, Claire, you obviously led him on in some way. _

Claire walked to the temporary lab Myrnin had set up two blocks away from the Glass House whilst his old one was being repaired. At least there she could get some peace, once Myrnin had finished his daily please-don't-leave-town speech.

The cold winter air stung Claire's barely revealed skin. Before moving to Texas, she never would have guessed that desert towns could get this could, but apparently they could. The streets were almost empty for the small distance that Claire walked speedily, and only a few cars passed. It was Saturday, which meant there was little traffic coming to and from TPU, and she revelled in the ghost-like feel it gave the town.

It shouldn't though. Not after she recently discovered how the town was literally full of ghosts. Including Shane's sister.

Claire reached the new lab, and waved to Myrnin- who couldn't wave back, due to his inconvenient position of being halfway through a handstand on the other side of the room.

"Guess what!" He laughed, still upside down.

"What?"

"It's December! It's almost Christmas!"

Myrnin's joy, however, was utterly ruined when his excitement caused him to fall on his face, vampire reactions or not.

Day Two: The Early Sunset.

"I have to go." Claire sighed, uncomfortably aware of the clock ticking- even with the added bonus of living in one of the warmest states in America, the days were drawing to a close ridiculously early, meaning that Claire had to leave the lab at half four to get home before dark, and even that was cutting it close.

"Whyyyyy?" Myrnin pouted (_HeShouldLetHerLeaveSheWouldB eGoingAwaySoonHeHadToLetGoNo w_), and moved closer to Claire, bridging some of the small distance that separated them- ever since Claire had been granted permission to leave town, Myrnin had very rarely been able to stay far away once she entered the lab. Claire should really do something about that.

(But she didn't)

(_It's easier to work that way_)

(No, she didn't believe herself either, actually)

"Unless you fancy me getting eaten by a Vampire that _isn't_ you, Myrnin, I need to go before the sun sets. Just because Amelie rescinded the rules, doesn't mean that some of the Skank-Vamps won't try to have a go."

Myrnin shifted his body weight slightly, and moved his head, resting it first on his left shoulder and then his right, as if observing a wild animal in a zoo. After a few seconds of silence, Claire sighed and began packing away her books. She had just stuffed _Dijon's 1000 Rules of Alchemy_ into the smallest gap in the history of existence when Myrnin spoke up again.

"Can I walk you home Claire?" She looked up at Myrnin, eyes wider than what was proberly good for her, and blushed slightly, aware of what Shane would think. "Just for safety's sake, of course."

Yup, there was that flustered scratching of his ear. If he was alive, he would be blushing _furiously_.

"Well- Well, yeah, I suppose."

"Come on, then. Time waits for no man. Or Woman... or Vampire. Allons-y!" Myrnin said, then grabbed Claire's bag and lead her to the door that led out of the Temporary lab.

Claire followed him, and was stunned by the sky- entirely dusty-pink, a natural shade that Claire hadn't seen since she was 16, with a few tendrils of wispy, red-tinted clouds curling themselves around where the horizon met the atmosphere.

"Wow. That's... beautiful."

Myrnin smiled gently, and spoke quietly against the icy wind that was blowing.

"Yes, it is, isn't it?"

Claire didn't notice that he wasn't looking at the clouds.

**A/N: I was going to do this for DW, but then I realised that MV needs it so much more. SO, SO MUCH MORE. I write one of these a day during maths, which is why they aren't as long as my other stuff.  
I WILL FINISH THIS BY CHRISTMAS EVE. I have a mental image of what I want to happen of Christmas Day, but you ain't finding out yet. It's a surprise! **

**Review please because you love me lots and you want me to know ok?**

**Chloe xxx**


	2. 3-5

**Twenty Five Days of Christmas**

**Set after Bitter Blood.  
Also: I have no idea how winter works in America, never mind in Texas.  
This chapter was beta'd by my good friend Mariam, so blame her. **

**Rating increased due to strong language used during Day Three. I haven't gotten to the kissing yet, silly ;D. **

_**Part Three- Days Three to Five.**_

Day Three: Life at the Glass House this December. 

"Screw you, Collins! You're a fucking Jerk!" Eve yelled, almost shaking the Glass House right down to its foundations. Claire sighed and rolled out of bed, and out her head in her hands as she caught her breathe. Another night, another bad dream. She didn't know how long she could deal with... with _everything_ for much longer. "You can get your shit together or you can leave- Your choice!"

Ever since her acceptance letter for MIT had come through, Shane had seemingly given up- six out of seven nights (or, well, technically mornings) a week would find him stumbling into Claire's room stinking of Vodka and weed. It was surprising that he wasn't dead yet.

It had never occurred to Claire that Shane, not Michael, would be the reason she bought a lock for her door.

Things were awkward between Claire and Eve & Michael, too. Michael knew he had been forced to kiss Claire whilst under Naomi's control- Claire knew it too, and so did Eve. But knowing it wasn't their fault didn't mean there weren't repercussions. Claire and Michael could hardly cope being in the same room as one another. And when they could, Eve would stick right by Michael, and not let Claire anywhere too close. Claire couldn't blame her- she would have re-acted the same if Shane had kissed someone else.

Well, two months ago, maybe. Proberly.

Claire threw on some jeans and a red chequered shirt, glancing quickly in the mirror before writing her hair off as a lost cause. It's not like anyone cared what she looked like.

She wasn't at school or due at the lab today, because Myrnin said she could have this Monday off (even though the lab was hardly a job- it was more like the only place she felt happy) but surely he wouldn't mind her popping in? He was lonely, she was lonely. They were friends.

_No, best not,_ Claire decided. _Give him some room- I've been hanging around way too much recently. I don't want him sick of me before I even leave town._

Claire breathed in deeply before unlocking and opening her bedroom door, ready for another day of "fun" at the Glass House.

Day Four: Falling on ice.

Claire yelped as her legs flew from underneath her. The temperature had plummeted overnight, and now the (normally dusty) Texan roads were covered in a thick layer of ice that the Scottish Highlands would have been proud of.

It was rare for Claire to see anybody, human or vampire, on her travels to the lab, due to both the chilling weather and the uncertainty that had gripped the town since Oliver's exile (mostly the latter, admittedly). Today was different. Children were sliding along the slick pathways, and parents stood in the garden laughing and comforting as the occasion called for it. The front doors were open in case they needed a quick escape, and the glint of fear in the adult's eyes never really went away but apart from that, Claire couldn't tell this scene apart from the one's she had experienced before she moved to Morganville.

Struggling to get upright, Claire looked down and rubbed the back of her thighs to stop the cold burning through her jeans and irritating her skin. When she looked up again, she was pleased (and only slightly disconcerted) to see a tall, slightly lanky figure stood right in front of her. The only thing that alerted her to his identity- and separated him from the humans surrounding them- was the mass of unruly curls that tumbled down to rest around his shoulders.

"Shall we, my lady?" Myrnin asked, holding an elbow out for her to hold on to as they walked the rest of the way to the lab. Claire rolled her eyes and laughed before grabbing it, thoughts of Shane and MIT and ice cold burns leaving her mind without resistance. His welsh accent just _did_ that to her.

"Yes, we shall, Sir Myrnin."

Day Five: Scarves from Northern England

"Wait, so where did you get this again?" Claire wondered out loud, holding up the deceivingly attractive coat that Myrnin had shown her. Today was Wednesday, and Claire had come to the lab after College to say hi to him, not expecting to be shown his winter wardrobe. Claire hadn't even seen half this stuff before, and what with Myrnin's everyday wardrobe, she thought she'd seen it all.

"That, my dear, is a Victorian waistcoat. Have you ever watched Doctor Who?"

"Um, yeah... I think?"

Myrnin looked shocked at Claire's confession, and immediately began talking quicker than he had before. "Goodness me, Child, you must watch it all- of course, I don't like the new versions, but the originals are fantastic, even if slightly incorrect on some of the historical detail. Anyway, the Eighth Doctor wore something like this, although his was just a modern reconstruction of one. That-" Myrnin said, pointing to the waistcoat she held gingerly- "is the very same thing I wore on Christmas Day, 1821, in Cardiff. I was visiting Wales, and decided to pop into the City to watch the Naval Fleets fireworks on the bay. That's where I met A- Anyway, yes. Waistcoat, Victorian, Wales. Anything else?"

"Yeah," Claire began, and placed the waistcoat back into the stereotypical wooden trunk that lay at her feet, and picked up something else. "Why do you have a seven foot scarf?"

Fully unwrapped, the scarf turned out not to be seven foot, but actually ten.

(Well, ten-and-a-half, but who's counting?)

"Bloody hell, Myrnin!" Claire screeched. "That's double my size. Why do you need a scarf that big, anyway? Attack of the snowmen?"

"Ah, no," Myrnin blustered slightly and took the scarf out of Claire's small hands. "Back when I was a human, the man (well, Vampire, actually) who taught me alchemy needed me to pick up a package in Preston- that's in the North-West England- and it just so happened to be wrapped in this. My teacher allowed me to keep this, and I just- I just like it ok?" Myrnin finished, and although he would have denied it had Claire ever brought it up again, pouting slightly.

Claire smiled gently at him, before rubbing the thick wool of the multicoloured scarf in between her fingers.

"I'd love to visit England someday, you know. Visit the sights, do a bit of sightseeing."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Not just the London stuff though. The other stuff too- I heard Manchester's quite nice. And Edinburgh and Norfolk and St Ives and the Lake District and the Isle of Man. Everything." Claire didn't look at Myrnin, afraid of the pitying look he would most likely be giving her, but she could feel blood rush up to her face regardless.

"Claire."

_Silence._

"Claire, look at me." She sighed and looked just at the spot between Myrnin's imperfect eyebrows, unwilling to look at him directly until he tapped her nose. When she did, he smiled brightly and said calmly, "I'll take you there someday."

And then proceeded to walk into the lab and set his desk on fire.

**Do you want to know what's awkward? Writing this in RE to show your friend, and your teacher grabbing it and reading it herself. Ugh. I'm just so glad it wasn't a kissing scene *shudders*  
Also- I know where this is going. I even have a sequel/one shot planned, and I have written the main chapters- It's just the smaller, fluffy ones that need finishing and editing. **

**AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR RANDOM RECOMMENDATION OF THE WEEK! If you haven't already, go check out Danisnotonfire's channel on YouTube. If you're as socially awkward as me, it'll be right up your street. **

**Review because it's the season of giving (reviews or money, your choice ;)) **

**Chloe xxx**


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